Open Heaven For Today 2024 Wednesday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Your Spiritual Father
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TOPIC: Your Spiritual Father
MEMORISE: For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. 1 Corinthians 4:15
READ: 1 Kings 19:19-21 (KJV)
19 So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him.
20 And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee. And he said unto him, Go back again: for what have I done to thee?
21 And he returned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave unto the people, and they did eat. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Mark 12-13
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE
Many people do not take the issue of who their spiritual father is seriously. Some people say that they have multiple fathers; such people are bastards because no human being can have more than one father. The role of your spiritual father in your life is very important.
Even though Elijah said that Elisha, his spiritual son, had asked for a hard thing, he practically committed God to give a double portion of his spirit to him (2 Kings 2:9-15). That is a good example of the role a spiritual father can play in a fellow’s destiny.
If you claim to have a spiritual father, you must do some things to prove it. If you are disobedient to your spiritual father, you are not his true child, and you cannot get the things that you expect to get from him. Also, a grown-up child will take care of his parents. If you don’t sow anything, either in the form of service or material resources, into the life of your spiritual father, God will not recognize that relationship. 2 Kings 3:11 says that Elisha poured water on the hands of Elijah. That is what made their father-son relationship valid and qualified Elisha to get the double portion of his father’s spirit.
One night, during my prayer walk, some people met me and asked me to pray with them. For them not to disturb my prayers, I simply told them,
“God bless you.”
As I went further, a fellow who was driving a bus passed by me and stopped. He took the little money he had in the bus, ran to me, and gave it to me.
That time, when I said,
“God bless you,”
it was from the depth of my heart. The money was not much, but he showed that I am truly his father so he could get something from me.
When Isaac asked Esau to prepare food for him, it was not because he was hungry or that he could not afford to feed himself, he was telling the young man,
“Spoil me so that I can bless you from my heart.”
There are blessings that come from the heart of your father; such blessings can never be reversed, as we see in Genesis 27:33-37.
Do what will make your spiritual father so willing to bless you that, even if what you ask for is beyond his control, he will commit God to give it to you.
Action Point
Do something special for your spiritual father or mother today to spoil him or her.
HYMN 30: When We Walk With The Lord
1. When we walk with the Lord,
In the light of His word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will
He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.
Refrain:
Trust and obey!
For there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus,
But to trust and obey.
2. But we never can prove
The delights of His love,
Until all on the altar we lay,
For the favour He shows
And the joy He bestows
Are for them who will trust and obey. [Refrain]
3. Then in fellowship sweet
We will sit at His feet,
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way,
What He says we will do,
Where He sends we will go,
Never fear, only trust and obey. [Refrain]
Open Heaven For Today 2024 Wednesday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – The Future You
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TOPIC: The Future You
MEMORISE: Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons; Deuteronomy 4:9
READ: Deuteronomy 6:6-7(KJV)
6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE
No matter how hard you try, you cannot live forever. The only way you can continue to live in the next generation is through your children. This is why you must raise your children well.
You have learnt some lessons in life so far, some of which were from mistakes you made in the past. You must ensure that the people you leave behind after God has called you home are taught these lessons so that they don’t have to make the same mistakes you made. If your children make the same mistakes you made, you have not done a good job of teaching them. It is where you stop that they should start from; they should not repeat your mistakes.
If you are a father and you don’t want your children to be greater than you, it only means that your greatness will die with you. Abraham was great, Isaac was very great, and Jacob was exceedingly great; that is the correct order of things. Years ago, before God gave me a private jet, one of my sons bought a jet, and some people criticised me for publicly dedicating it, saying that I, the father, did not even have a Mercedes Benz. I responded, “The jet belongs to my son, show me what your son has.”
l often ask my children to pray that I am not taken away soon because it is where I stop that they will start from. Some of my children are already pastoring churches that are bigger than the one I pastored when I first became General Overseer.
When many people read Proverbs 13:22, they think that the inheritance that the Bible refers to is only money. If you are a good man, the inheritance you will leave for your children will exceed money; the major inheritance you will leave for them will be wisdom, and you will also leave influence, a good name, properties, and so on.
Therefore, you must train the ones who will carry on from where you stop. Sometimes you will need to leave some of the things you are doing now to train them because you must invest in the ‘future you’. Occasionally, I take my children and grandchildren to our hometown, where we can be alone. In those times, I tell them stories, answer their questions, and we just have a nice time together. I am leaving an inheritance for the ‘future me,’ I hope you are doing the same.
Prayer Point
How much are you investing in the ‘future you’?
HYMN 28: Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah
1 Guide me, O my great Redeemer,
pilgrim through this barren land;
I am weak, but you are mighty;
hold me with your powerful hand.
Bread of heaven, bread of heaven,
feed me now and evermore,
feed me now and evermore.
2 Open now the crystal fountain,
where the healing waters flow.
Let the fire and cloudy pillar
lead me all my journey through.
Strong Deliverer, strong Deliverer,
ever be my strength and shield,
ever be my strength and shield.
3 When I tread the verge of Jordan,
bid my anxious fears subside.
Death of death, and hell’s Destruction,
land me safe on Canaan’s side.
Songs of praises, songs of praises
I will ever sing to you,
I will ever sing to you.
Open Heaven For Today 2024 Tuesday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Wisdom
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TOPIC: Wisdom
READ: Proverbs 1:20-33(KJV)
20 Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:
21 She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,
22 How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?
23 Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.
24 Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;
25 But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:
26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;
27 When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.
28 Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:
29 For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord:
30 They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.
31 Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
32 For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.
33 But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Mark 8-9
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE
Today’s memory verse says that in everything you get, you must get wisdom. In other words, wisdom is the most important thing you can get.
More interestingly, the Bible reading for today tells us that wisdom is crying in the streets:
Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets: Proverbs 1:20
Unfortunately, many people ignore the cry of wisdom and are not interested in her. People who do not heed the cry of wisdom usually suffer the consequences of being foolish, and it may be too late by the time they realize it.
For people who will let wisdom pour out her spirit on them and teach them her words, she always makes herself available, and they are tremendously blessed for it.
I am sure you are asking yourself, “How can I get wisdom?” Psalm 111:10 says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. If you want to be wise, the place to start from is to fear God and prove that you fear Him.
Proverbs 16:6 says that the fear of the Lord is to depart from evil. Every time people commit sin, they are simply displaying foolishness.
Daniel 2:20-22 says that it is God who gives wisdom to the wise. If a fellow does not have a relationship with God, he or she cannot get wisdom.
James 1:5 says:
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
The way to get wisdom is first to fear God and then simply ask Him for wisdom; it is as simple as that. Now, because wisdom is the correct application of knowledge, the limit to your wisdom will be how limited you are in knowledge. As you ask God for wisdom, you must also increase in knowledge so that you will keep increasing in wisdom. This is why I am always reading books. I want to learn something new every day, even if I have to ask someone to teach me.
Beloved, wisdom indeed is the principal thing. Jesus Christ is the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24) and you must accept Him as your Lord and Saviour if you want to be wise.
Prayer Point
Father, please give me wisdom.
HYMN 3: Ancient Words
1. Holy words long preserved
For our walk in this world
They resound with God’s own heart
Oh, let the ancient words impart
Chorus
Ancient words ever true
Changing me and changing you
We have come with open hearts
Oh, let the ancient words impart
2. Words of Life, words of Hope
Give us strength, help us cope
In this world, where e’er we roam
Ancient words will guide us home
3. Holy words of our Faith
Handed down to this age
Came to us through sacrifice
Oh heed the faithful words of Christ
4. Holy words long preserved
For our walk in this world
They resound with God’s own heart
Oh let the ancient words impart
Open Heaven For Today 2024 Monday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Cover Not Your Sins
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TOPIC: Cover Not Your Sins
MEMORISE: He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. Proverbs 28:13
READ: 1 Samuel 15:22-29 (KJV)
22 And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
24 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.
25 Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord.
26 And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.
27 And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent.
28 And Samuel said unto him, The Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou.
29 And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Mark 6-7
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE
In my primary school days, our teacher told us the story of a man who offended his king. The king was very angry and called the man concerning the issue. The man immediately got on his knees and pleaded for mercy. He admitted his offence and said that he was very sorry. The king pardoned him because of his repentant heart.
Our teacher told us that if we are wrong and admit it while asking for mercy, we will obtain mercy. However, if we try to cover our wrongs, we will surely get punished. The lesson stuck with me, and so, when l do something wrong, I don’t try to cover it. If I offend God, I turn to Him and say, “Lord, I have offended you, please have mercy on me.”
If you want to obtain mercy from God, you must not cover any sins that you commit. The reason God always had mercy on David is that he never tried to cover his sins; rather, he would confess them to God. In 1 Chronicles 21:1-16, when Gad came to tell David that he had offended God, not only did David accept his wrong, he called the elders to fast and pray with him for forgiveness. Compare that to Saul in 1 Samuel 15:20-21.
After Samuel had come to tell Him that he had not carried out God’s instruction to the letter, he made excuses instead of accepting his wrong. When Samuel refused to worship God with him, he did not plead with him to help appease God, rather, he pulled Samuel’s skirt just because he didn’t want the elders to see Samuel walking away from him. He clearly wasn’t making the sacrifice to ask for mercy, he was doing it to cover his sin and make everything look alright.
1 Samuel 3:19 tells us that God honoured Samuel and never allowed his words to fall to the ground, but in 1 Samuel 16:1, as much as Samuel pleaded for Saul, God said that he should not waste his time because He had rejected Saul.
Beloved, covering your sins will land you in destruction. When you do something wrong, don’t try to keep up appearances. Your Christian life is not about publicity, it is more of your personal relationship with the King of kings. Confess your sins and plead with God for mercy. When you do that, He will have mercy on you, but if you cover your sins, you are risking His total rejection.
Action Point
Don’t cover your sins; confess them and repent genuinely.
HYMN 2: Amazing Grace
1 Amazing grace! how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch; like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
2 Through many dangers, toils, and snares
I have already come
This grace that brought me safe thus far
And grace will lead me home
3 The Lord hath promised good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures.
4 Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
and mortal life shall cease:
I shall possess, within the veil,
a life of joy and peace.
5 The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
the sun forbear to shine;
but God, who called me here below,
will be forever mine.
6 When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we first begun.
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